A better position than ever to move towards drilling

This week, I want to talk about placings. Specifically, the one we completed towards the end of last month, in which we raised close to £1 million.
 
Now, I know that these events are something investors often have mixed emotions around. But in this case, I genuinely believe there’s a great deal to be positive about.
 
First off, the conditions in which our placing completed clearly indicate a great deal of support for our ongoing exploration efforts in Ontario.
 
Indeed, despite raising the maximum amount we were allowed to, and despite taking place at a minimal, 5% discount to our mid-market closing value… it was excellent to see that the raise was considerably oversubscribed.
 
Amid global resource market conditions as tough as the ones we’re currently experiencing, this demand is truly humbling. Once again, I’d like to say thanks to everyone who took part for their support.
 
Alongside this, I was also pleased to report that our CEO Marc used the placing as an opportunity to invest into First Class.
 
He subscribed for shares worth £37,500 in a private placement. And as well as further aligning the interests of our management team with those of our shareholders… I see his willingness to put his personal capital into our operations as clear evidence of his conviction in the value of the work he is directing on the ground.
 
Finally, I’d also like to highlight Power Metal Resources’ decision to exercise more than £50,000 worth of warrants alongside the placing and subscription. Power Metal is our largest single shareholder by some distance. So, to see it taking the opportunity to extend its support in the way it has is certainly encouraging.

Planning to drill 
Strong support aside, perhaps the most positive takeaway from the placing from a forward-looking perspective is the working capital it has provided us with. After all, we now have the resources we need to complete several high impact exploration workstreams with the potential to unlock major shareholder value from here.

You can learn more about our plans for the year and beyond by clicking through to our recent deep-dive report here:

Our priority now will be up to 3,000m of diamond drilling on our Sunbeam and North Hemlo properties.
 
At Sunbeam, we already have an approved exploration permit to do this work. Moreover, we have started to focus on selected areas of the project with an initial focus on drilling the historic workings at Pettigrew.
 
Pettigrew is one of several sites of historical gold showings at the project, where modern-day exploration has been very limited. However, our review of historical data increased our understanding of the showing’s geology and potential, and our recent ground exploration efforts in the wider area were even able to unveil a 3m wide quartz vein containing anomalous gold levels.
 
It presents a very exciting, new exploration opportunity at the project that sits perfectly alongside the existing modern-day potential presented by the historically-producing Sunbeam mine site.

Sunbeam core review

Meanwhile, subject to the approval of the exploration permit we recently lodged, our first drilling focus at North Hemlo (following stripping) will be Dead Otter Lake.
 
This is a notable showing where our exploration has identified a discontinuous trend running for more than 3km. Grab samples have even reached grades of up to 19.6g/t gold – among the highest grades ever recorded on the Hemlo North limb.
 
We look forward to learning more about this prospect’s potential as we continue to see encouraging results from West Pickle Lake near North Hemlo’s border.

Sample from the Dead Otter Lake trend

Pushing ahead 
When it comes to our placing proceeds, other areas of focus will include Zigzag and Esa, two further projects we’re advancing towards drill-ready status. Likewise, we’ll also look to learn more about our other portfolio assets, in line with our working capital requirements.
 
But for now, like I said upon the announcement of the placing…
 
It is highly encouraging to receive so much support in such challenging capital market conditions. Indeed, we look forward to using the proceeds of our recent raise to continue building on the strong exploration momentum we’ve established since we listed last year.
 
Keep your eyes peeled for updates over the coming weeks and months. As always, please get in touch if you have any questions about First Class Metals – I’d love to help where I can.